Ford Foundation – Esalen grants (1967–68): 'Ford-Esalen Project for Innovation in Humanistic Education'
event
The Ford Foundation was paying for Esalen projects in the late 1960s.
Who they are
Ford Foundation grant files for 1967–68, including a 'Ford-Esalen Project for Innovation in Humanistic Education'[1].
What they do
It is an earlier Ford–Esalen money line, two decades before Ford backed Esalen's 1980s Soviet exchange.
How it works
The archive lists the files but no amounts. A research report's citation for a 1988 letter did not match how the archive is organised.
Why it matters
Big-foundation money reached Esalen early. What it bought, beyond an education project, is not shown.
The engine's record — word for word
[
Report #196] **In plain terms:** Ford Foundation money reached Esalen in the late 1960s for an education project — two decades before Ford's 1988 funding of Esalen's Soviet exchange.
The Rockefeller Archive Center (DIMES) lists Ford–Esalen grant files for 1967–68 under the Fund for the Advancement of Education, and a 1968 report 'Ford-Esalen Project for Innovation in Humanistic Education'. No grant number or amount is shown in the catalogue. CITATION NOTE: a research report cited 'Enid Schoettle to Susan Berresford, 22 September 1988, FA732A' for the 1988 funding; FA732A is 'Ford Foundation records, Grants, A–B' covering grantee files 1936–1977, so an Esalen file would not sit there, and the letter is not catalogued at item level. The 1988 Schoettle 'gained momentum' line in esalen_institute is unaffected.
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